


Energy to Burn

by ImperialPurple



Category: Janet King (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-26
Updated: 2016-08-19
Packaged: 2018-07-26 20:59:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7590109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImperialPurple/pseuds/ImperialPurple
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bianca Grieve is a ball full of jangling nerves - a tight coil of wire pushed right down ready to unleash her barely controlled energy. But of course, Janet King has nothing to do with that. No, nothing at all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Cabin Fever

Sergeant Bianca Grieve was feeling antsy. She was pissed off that she was being made to take a couple of weeks off, when she knew that any ‘mental rehabilitation’ or whatever term the AFP wanted to use, would happen far faster if she were actually on the job. But they had their protocols and processes, and they were still investigating the events of the past few weeks.

Yes, she shot two people – not something she was exactly dancing with joy about – and yes, unfortunately one was fatal, but both were completely justified under the circumstances. She knew she would be cleared once the full investigation was complete, so it’s not that she was worried about that. Ridiculous that she was deemed fine to go back to work the next day after the fatal shooting, but when she had shot Peta, who was in the act of trying to murder Janet’s kids in some sick and twisted revenge plot, the department had decided that she was a bit too close to the events, and ‘needed time.’

Ugh, I’ve had enough, she thought. 

It didn’t help that she’d only had the one brief text from Janet since it all went down. ‘Thank you. I owe you so much. Janet’. Burned into her brain, it had arrived the day after it all ended – 12 days ago now. 

She had responded, of course. “Just doing my job. Look after those precious kids. And yourself. B”.

But since then, nothing. But she was sure checking her phone twenty times a day had nothing to do with the antsy feeling jangling all her nerve endings. She was also sure that the fact that she thought about Janet another hundred times a day had nothing to do with it either. Her long neck, the softness of her skin just below her jaw where her pulse throbbed when Bianca kissed it… she shook her head to clear it and try to stop thinking about that infuriatingly intoxicating woman. 

She flicked the tele on and, flopping on the couch, started channel hopping. She wasn’t interested in motor sports or monster trucks or an old black and white movie or some lame American sit-com from the 90s or reruns of Neighbours - god knew that was bad enough first time around… She stopped briefly to watch the women’s triathlon series from the Gold Coast, but got bored with that fairly quickly. She finally settled on the Food Network and thought how she’d always found Po really attractive, even though she was the complete opposite of Janet. Argh… there she was in her head again.

TV off. She wandered to the fridge. Opened it. Studied the contents. Decided she wasn’t actually hungry – not that there was much in there – but she was, in fact, just bored. Cabin fever, that’s what they called it. She thought about grabbing a beer and going back to Po and her kitchen, but decided she needed to go for a run. Yeah, a run. She hadn’t been for a few days, but thought about 8ks should do the trick. That would take her about 50 minutes with the warm up and cool down and she’d be back in time for the ABC news at 7. Surely that would expend some of the nervous energy flowing around her body.

Now she had found some purpose, she walked briskly to her bedroom, and rummaged through the basket of clothes that she had washed, but not yet put away. She was totally unfussed about fancy running clothes or gym-wear, so grabbed a pair of standard issue AFP workout shorts from the pile, and upended the basket looking for a t-shirt she could run in comfortably. Frustratingly she couldn’t find her favourite ‘teenage hoodlum’ shirt, but caught sight of it on the floor – she must have missed it when she did the washing. Shit, she thought… oh bugger it, she thought just as quickly! A quick sniff deemed it okay; she’d chuck it in the wash after her run. 

Heading to the kitchen to grab a drink of water and hydrate before she headed off, she found her RSPCA rescue cat, Moggs, up on the bench licking one of the many dirty dishes that had been stacking up over the last few days. Moggs was one of those cats whose genetic combination of white fur with blue eyes meant he was deaf, so Bianca knew yelling at him to get down would do no good. 

Picking him up, he stretched his nose out to touch hers. He was so damned cute that she quickly forgot her anger; instead muttered half to herself and half to Moggs… what is it about blondes with blue eyes that make me so bloody useless? I swear Janet King is going to be the friggen death of me… Huh? How did she jump so quickly from a sink full of dirty dishes and a misbehaving cat to thinking about Janet… again?? 

She leaned against the bench, hands and legs spread like she was being body-searched and suddenly Janet was standing behind her and kissing her neck. God, the warmth of her soft lips on the nape of her neck was excruciatingly good... STOP! She shook her head for what seemed like the thousandth time today to rid her mind of the visions. She was sure she would eventually rattle her brain loose with all the shaking… and laughing to herself she figured at least then the invasive images might cease.

“Stay off the bench Moggs,” she said turning to the cat that was now sitting on the floor at her feet. “I’m going to clean this kitchen when I get home. And put the washing away. And do a general tidy up… yes I know, you can’t hear a word I’m saying, but we both know how much I hate mess, so it’s time I stopped moping and got my shit together.” She reached down and scratched him between his ears. “See you in an hour.” 

The cat blinked unhearing, and turned to walk towards the lounge room. “Great, no love from you either…”

Closing the front door behind her, she tucked her key into the inside pocket of her shorts and started a slow jog towards the park about 200 metres down the road. Reaching the park, she methodically stretched all her muscle groups, before heading off to the running track slowly at first, and then increasing her speed till she had reached a comfortable pace and found her rhythm. 

She was in the zone cruising along nicely, music playing in her ears. Talking Heads was the choice of the day, and when she actually tuned in, she laughed ironically at the songs pumping her along – ‘Stop Making Sense’ – she couldn’t claim that anything made sense at the moment; ‘Burning Down the House’– yep, she’d almost done just that with her frustrated energy this past week; ‘Road to Nowhere’ – where was she going with her life after this Royal Commission had turned it upside down? Then the knockout, ‘Once in a Lifetime’ – the thought struck her hard, was that Janet? Every song seemed to be a metaphor for her life right now, and she almost stopped running at the tightness in her chest which she knew didn’t come from being unfit. 

Instead she decided she would push through and do the 4 laps around the park that would make up the 8ks, rather than head off on her other route where she did half in the park and half around the suburbs. She’d try and blur the music into the background noise it was supposed to be and focus on the physical. 

It felt so good to sweat! A bead trickled down the side of her face, and she could feel it run down between her shoulder blades. She quickened her strides and before long the burn started in her calves and in her quads. She concentrated on holding her core strong and her glutes tight and soon everything was hurting in that positive way that only pushing yourself hard could deliver. She didn’t let up until she was back at her start point. 

As she hunched over and started sucking in the oxygen she clicked off the timer on her watch, which she’d check later. Forcing herself to stand tall, she put her hands behind her head and walked up and back trying to regain her breath and slow her racing heart rate. She checked her watch. Wow, she’d taken one minute 20 off her PB without even intending to go for it! Maybe Janet’s lack of communication was good for something after all.

Grabbing a long drink from the bubbler near the path, she started the slow, short jog home. Music went off – she liked to cool down with a clear head after a run – and still breathing heavily, she laughed at what a sight she must look. Her face was still burning from the exertion, and she guessed she must resemble something pretty much like a ripe tomato. She could feel locks of her hair that had escaped the makeshift ponytail she had scraped up that were now hanging down over her ears, and sticking to the sweat on her forehead. Her shirt was showing dark patches down her sides, and she guessed on her back too. When she got home, she’d finish her stretches, jump straight into the shower, watch the news, then do some tidying up. 

She was glad she had gone for a run. For the first time in about a week, she felt pretty good. And look – right at this moment she wasn’t even thinking about Janet… well, not much anyway, she thought wryly, the irony not lost on her one bit.


	2. Out of Nowhere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With her cabin fever momentarily cured, and feeling re-energised from her run, Bianca returns home with every intention of tidying up her messy house.

Bianca slowed to a walk for the last 10 metres before her house, and before she entered the small gate, started her cool down stretches on the footpath. It was part of her routine if it was already semi-dark outside - she loved the outdoors and to prolong staying out for that extra five minutes was something she enjoyed enormously. She was just onto her hammies, one leg up on the half metre brick wall in front of her house, backside sticking out as she bent right into it to get that full stretch into her overworked muscle. 

She didn’t even notice the person approaching from behind. “Nice view.”

She spun around so quickly she almost tripped herself over. One part of her was ready to hurl a mouthful of abuse at the person who had made the inappropriate comment, but at the same time her skin prickled with anticipation as she immediately recognised the husky voice that had dominated her thoughts for days on end.

“Janet… Where…?” she looked around for Janet’s car. “Why? What?” 

Bianca knew her look of confusion would not be at all complimentary to the sweaty, red-faced messy look she currently bore. She hastily pushed the sticky bits of hair off her forehead unconsciously attempting to make herself look more presentable, while trying to compose herself into a more articulate human being. 

Janet smiled softly under the street light, “You look like you pushed yourself pretty hard tonight.”

“Yeah a minute 20 off my 8k PB.”

“Wow, that’s impressive.” Janet nodded her head in deference, and Bianca could feel her eyes sweeping over her from head to toe. She hoped Janet wasn’t horrified by what she saw. 

“Yeah,” she replied, the corners of her mouth twitching involuntarily and her stomach doing a little flip. “I had a lot of nervous energy to work off.”

“I bet.” 

An awkward moment of silence hung between them, before Janet continued. “I, ah… I tried calling you at work today and they said you were still off.”

“Yeah, two weeks tomorrow.” Bianca cringed inwardly, well aware that Janet would know exactly how long it had been since THAT day. She looked down at the ground, before continuing, “Hopefully the investigation is done soon - I’m going a little stir crazy. I thought about going away for a few days but I figured I could get called back anytime, and anyway I’d have to get someone in to look after Moggs, or at least feed him…” 

She was aware she was talking way too much but she couldn’t seem to control the words that were spilling from her mouth. And of course there were the unspoken words, which she would never utter aloud: “… and I was waiting to hear from you, Janet. Giving you the time and space you need to be with your kids and get your life back together, and hoping like hell that life might include me. Or you’d at least text me to say ‘hi’…”

“Moggs?”

“My cat.”

“Aah,” Janet nodded again.

It suddenly struck Bianca how absurd this conversation was. On the footpath, talking about PBs and her cat… yet she had no idea what Janet wanted or why she had just turned up out of the blue at her house after almost two weeks of no communication. She hadn’t even thought Janet knew where she lived. But then again, she was Janet King; she could obtain information pretty easily when she wanted it. 

“Ummm, you, ahh, you wanna come in?” Bianca gestured towards the house. She half expected Janet to say no, which would have been strange, considering she had obviously sought her out for a reason. She had called her today and here she was at her house... why would she say no. Please don't say no, she thought. 

“Yeah, sure. I hope I haven’t come at a bad time?” There was a slight question in Janet’s voice.

“No, no, not at all, it’s all good, come in,” she replied, as she led the way, grimacing as she thought about the state of her house. She hoped that bloody cat wasn’t up on the kitchen bench again!

Bianca held the door open for Janet to walk through, and immediately wished she hadn’t. How would she react to this act of out-dated hetero chivalry? Geez, she berated herself, you were just being polite. 

Janet waited for Bianca to take the lead up the lengthy passageway of the small 1950s bungalow. When she had first seen the house, Bianca had loved the high ceilings and the polished boards – it gave her a feeling of space when she walked in, even if she did have a long walk past a large bedroom on either side before getting to the open plan modern extension that housed the kitchen, living area and bathroom off to the side. She loved that the laundry was still in its original little red brick shed outside – it made her feel like she was honouring the time period in which the house was built.

Bianca arrived first to the back area of the house, and her eyes immediately scanned the whole space in the practiced way that only someone with a background in surveillance could possibly accomplish. Disaster zone after disaster zone after disaster zone. Dirty dishes piled up, empty beer bottles on the coffee table, a pile of unfinished paperwork scattered across the table… at least the cat was just peacefully sleeping on the couch and not licking two-day-old food scraps off dirty plates up on the bench. One small blessing.

Bianca cursed herself. She was normally so tidy and organised, but with no work, and no need to be organised on a day-to-day basis, she admitted to herself she’d become incredibly slovenly and now this was the impression Janet was getting of her the very first time she was in her home. Well, it was partly Janet’s fault too – she was the one who had avoided her for the past 12 days.

But here she was. And Bianca could see Janet taking the scene in too. 

“Aah, please, excuse the mess. I swear I’m not usually like this.” She blushed in embarrassment, “but ahh, I haven’t been feeling all that motivated to do a whole lot lately. You know, with the investigation…“ (and you! She thought) “…and just kind of being left a bit, you know, not knowing how it’s progressing… yeah I have to admit I’ve been kind of moping a bit. So yeah, umm, sorry.”

“It’s okay Bianca, I get it. If I didn’t have to push on because of the twins, my place would probably look exactly the same. But I have to make sure there are clean dishes and clean clothes or else we run out,” she laughed. “With a pair of 4 year olds that’s the unavoidable truth.”

Bianca smiled, for what felt like the first time since Janet had appeared out of nowhere on the footpath. She realised how tense she was holding her shoulders, that she’d hardly been breathing, desperately curious as to Janet’s reasons for being here. One glance at Janet out the front confirmed what she already knew – she was completely besotted with this woman. What she wanted to do right now was throw Janet onto the couch and kiss and taste every inch of her beautiful body, but Janet was giving no indication whatsoever that was even a possibility.

“Can I get you a drink? I have beer, I think there’s a bottle of Shiraz in the cupboard, or there’s some orange juice. I think. Or maybe not… I’ll just check.”

“I wouldn’t mind just a glass of water if that’s okay.”

“Yep, of course, no prob.” Bianca walked to the cupboard and was horrified to find no clean glasses except some ridiculous cartoon character ones she’d picked up at Dreamworld that she kept for her nieces and nephew when they came over. She definitely could not give Janet one of those, so she’d have to stand here and wash some dirty ones, with Janet watching, knowing she had no clean dishes left... 

She avoided looking at Janet and picked a couple from the bottom of the sink, giving them a good rinse out, before filling them with water. Handing one to Janet she apologised, “Umm, sorry it’s only tap water, there’s no cold, it appears I forgot to put the water bottle back in the fridge.” She gestured towards the half-empty glass water bottle she usually kept for cold water, a small puddle from day old condensation pooled around the bottom. 

Janet laughed. “You really are a bit of a mess aren’t you?”

Finally she could laugh at the situation, “You mean me personally, or my place? Or both?”

“Both, by the looks of things,” Janet smiled, and in the inside light and finally feeling comfortable enough to really look her in the face, Bianca saw Janet’s eyes crinkle at the corners and shine with warmth. Bianca’s heart melted completely.

It seemed the ice was finally broken.


	3. Woman of Mystery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bianca's nerves settle as she tries to interpret Janet's intentions.

“Why don’t you sit down while I tidy up a bit? I can’t stand this mess any longer.” 

Bianca suggested the place at the table where Janet should sit by pushing the messy pile of papers off to the side, and wiping the dust and crumbs off into her hand before disposing of them in the sink. 

“Thanks.” Janet was still giving nothing away as she sat down on the kitchen chair and watched as Bianca began to put dirty dishes into the dishwasher. 

As she bent down to put in a load of cutlery, Bianca stole a glance in Janet’s direction. Long legs encased in straight leg jeans and casual lace up shoes were stretched out in front of her and crossed at the ankles. Bianca decided that Janet looked very comfortable and at ease sitting in her kitchen. 

“So, how have – “

“Um, how are thi – “

They both stopped to let the other speak.

“You go,” said Janet.

“Not much to say really,” Bianca lied. “I sit around, waiting for a call, hoping they’ll tell me the investigation is done and I can go back to work. You can see I haven’t really been, ahhh, particularly house proud lately.” She grinned. “So it’s been me, the TV and Moggs. That’s about it.”

Janet nodded toward the snoring cat. “So this must be Moggs?”

Bianca smiled at her slumbering pet. “Yeah. He’s a bit of a ratbag when he’s awake.”

“Not much seems to disturb him,” laughed Janet.

“He’s deaf.” Bianca dead-panned.

“Serious?” Janet looked surprised.

“Yep.”

“You have a deaf cat?”

“Yep.”

“How interesting.”

Bianca raised one eyebrow in question. “How so?”

“Well, first of all I wouldn’t’ve guessed you had a pet. And if I were pushed, I would’ve probably picked you as a dog person. And now it turns out you not only have a cat, but it’s deaf. Just strikes me as interesting. But then,” she paused, eyeing Bianca closely. “I think you’re interesting.”

Bianca felt her cheeks flame, but shared the story of Moggs being at the RSPCA when she took her niece in to get a rescue cat. Bianca's heart had gone out to him, concerned that he was still there three months after being dumped, and being deaf, worried that no one would take him home. She had absolutely not meant to get a cat, but she’d walked out with Moggs, as well as a kitten for her niece.

The entire time Bianca spoke, Janet watched her face intently. “So you’re a softy too? A real woman of mystery.” Janet spoke quietly, taking a sip of water. Was that a smirk on her gorgeous face?

Bianca was momentarily dumbstruck, her brain scrambling to find intelligible words that she hoped would make her sound both interesting and mysterious and not like a tongue-tied teenager.

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me Janet.” 

Yeah, she was pretty happy with that response. She let a small smile tug at the corners of her mouth, before turning back to the mess she was cleaning up. She could feel Janet’s eyes boring into her back, though neither of them spoke a word. 

Bianca was almost done with stacking the dishwasher, and as she turned it on, she casually asked, “So, uh, how about you? How’re things? Kids?”

“We’ve, uh, just come back from up the coast. We only went for a few days, just the three of us. It was exactly what we needed. I accidentally on purpose – “ Janet indicated quotation marks in the air with her fingers – “left my phone behind. Only Tony had the number where we were staying. You know, in case of some emergency at work or something.”

Was Janet making an excuse for not having communicated with her these past two weeks? Bianca again wasn’t quite sure how to respond, so instead headed past Janet to collect the rubbish that had gathered on the coffee table.

“Actually Tony’s with them tonight. He kindly agreed to let me have the night off.” Janet chuckled quietly, but Bianca still wasn’t 100% sure what she was implying. She would not allow herself to make assumptions. 

Some general small talk followed about how the kids had delighted in having their mum all to themselves, how they had enjoyed the walks on the beach collecting shells, and how much fun they had had building sandcastles together. Janet described the house that she had rented – with the path that led straight from the beach to the yard, and the main bedroom with large windows that directly over-looked the ocean. Waking up to those views each morning, she had said, had reinvigorated her. 

“We should head up there sometime.” Janet’s voice and gaze were calm and steady.

Bianca was bending over picking up the last of the bits and pieces for the bin. She shot up straight-backed and stared at Janet, disbelievingly. 

“What? Who? You and me?” There was no hiding her confusion, and she knew she was not presenting as anywhere near intelligible this time. 

“Well, yeah, I mean, if you’d be interested.” Now the confusion was clear on Janet’s strong features. 

Had she seriously expected Bianca to just agree to go away with her after two weeks of not a single word? Did she not think Bianca had a little more self-respect and dignity…?

But then she’d partially explained why, and Bianca reasoned that before her little break with the twins she would have been adjusting to life after the RC, the episode with psycho-Peta, and to being with her kids without having to constantly watch her back. 

But still…

“Sounds like a nice place,” she countered in a very general manner.

“That sounds non-committal.”

Bianca focused her eyes on Janet’s. A thousand thoughts were surging around her head. From soft and tender, “I’d follow you to the ends of the earth Janet”; to frustrated and affronted, “Who the fuck do you think you are turning up unannounced and asking me to go away with you as if the silence of the last two weeks never happened?” And everything else in between.

Rather, she half croaked, half spoke just one word… “Janet…” There was no question, no implication of a response, no indication of how she felt. Just a name which was so deeply embedded in her heart and psyche, a name with a raft of her emotions hidden within it. 

“It’s okay, you don’t have to decide now.” Janet let her off the hook. “You’ll probably be pretty busy catching up on all your missed admin and paperwork when they call you back in. I imagine they’ll be done with the investigation soon.”

“Yeah… I hope so…” Bianca’s thoughts were distracted and her reply reflected the state of her mind.

Suddenly her brain refocused, and she was no longer prepared to politely wait for Janet to explain exactly why she had turned up on her doorstep. She figured Carpe Diem and all that stuff. “Umm, have you had dinner?”

“No, I had hoped we might - ”

“You have the menulog app on your phone, don’t you?”

A smile started spreading across Janet’s face. “Yes.”

“Look, I really need a shower after that run. But why don’t you order us some food and stay for something to eat? Flick the TV on if you want, ‘7.30 Report’ is about to start. I won’t be long.” Bianca headed back towards her bedroom to get some clean clothes to put on after her shower, thinking she'd keep it casual with some trackie pants, sneakers and an AFP hoodie.

As she headed up the passageway she heard Janet call, “What do you want to eat?”

She desperately wanted to yell back ‘you’, but stifled the urge and, giggling childishly to herself, called out, “Surprise me.”

For a reason she couldn’t specifically identify, Bianca was suddenly buoyed by an influx of positive energy such that she almost bounced from her bedroom to the bathroom. She had to walk back past Janet who was by now sitting on the couch with her back to Bianca. The ‘7.30 Report’ had indeed just started, and she had one hand scrolling through her phone – presumably looking for something to eat – the other absent-mindedly scratching Moggs under his chin. She looked like she belonged there.

Even from behind she was gorgeous. Her hair was tied up in a loose ponytail, with some fine tendrils escaping just at the nape of her neck. Bianca recalled the purring sound she made when she kissed her there, trailing her tongue across the sensitive skin, nipping her with just a hint of teeth, as goose bumps rose on her bare flesh. 

Bianca felt the heat of desire flame between her legs, and decided she should get herself cleaned up. The conversation tonight had given her fresh hope that Janet might actually be interested in her. You didn’t have to be a Fed to put the clues together to make a pretty compelling case.


	4. An Understanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for the discussion Bianca and Janet need to have.

Fifteen minutes later Bianca appeared from the bathroom, towel drying her wet hair. She had quickly run the razor – discovering it was not as sharp as she would have liked – over her legs and underarms, and had to hope that other areas did not appear as neglected as she felt they probably were. After all, her police training had taught her that it was important to prepare for all possibilities, while her experience as a single woman meant she knew how to look like she was making virtually no effort at all. Taking any longer in the bathroom would have looked a little obvious for her liking. 

She walked quietly to where Janet was engrossed in a Leigh Sales interview with the PM, a slight frown creasing her brow. Bianca sat down on the arm of the sofa and distractedly began patting Moggs, whose internal motor started up immediately. 

“Oh, you’re done,” Janet stated, rather than asked. “Feel better?” 

“Much,” replied Bianca as she threw her towel onto the back of a kitchen chair and ran her fingers through her hair trying to detangle. “What’s with your furrowed brow, Commissioner?”

Janet laughed quietly, dropping her eyes briefly to her lap, before looking back up at Bianca and meeting her gaze. 

“Firstly, I’m no longer Commissioner. Thank god! And secondly,” she pointed at the TV, “for once I’d like a little unbiased reporting on the ABC! Leigh went so much harder at the Opposition Leader last night. She’s letting the PM off the hook way too easily.”

“Yeah, that annoys me too. Maybe she’s been told to make them look good so there are no more funding cuts.”

“Mmm, maybe…” Janet leaned across towards her, fixing her with one of those disarming stares, the kind that made Bianca feel as though she were looking right into the depths of her soul and could read her very thoughts. The kind of look that rendered her momentarily speechless, that only a woman such as Janet King could deliver. “But I don’t want to talk about funding cuts to the ABC.”

“No…” Bianca’s voice caught, and she cursed herself for being so obvious in her response. She was desperate to know exactly what Janet wanted to talk about, why she was here, but knew she couldn’t push. Janet always did things in her own good time, anyway. 

Janet was watching her, with a slightly amused look, resting her elbow on her slender knee, and her chin on her perfect hand. Bianca found herself admiring her long fingers and wondering if Janet played the piano. She figured she probably should with hands like that. When her thoughts wandered to other talents Janet performed with those fingers, she felt herself redden, as the stirring she had felt just before her shower returned with force. When Janet broke the spell and spoke, her voice was low and oh-so-sexy. “I’ve ordered Japanese – hope that’s okay.”

“What? Oh yeah, that’s fine,” Bianca was taken aback with the unexpected comment, and with her impatience getting the better of her, decided to go on the attack. “Why do I have the feeling you’re playing with me now?”

Janet sat back and grinned - a broad, bright grin that saw her whole face light up. She raised her hands in mock defeat, “I confess! Your crime-solving powers obviously haven’t diminished during your time off work, Sergeant Grieve.” 

“Pure habit or years of hard work – you choose,” Bianca responded drily, straight-faced but with a hint of a smile tickling the corners of her mouth. Then suddenly, out of the blue, such that it surprised Bianca herself, “Janet, why are you here?”

Janet paused, as though she were considering her words carefully. 

“I want to know how you are. How you really are. What you’re thinking. I’ve thought about you – worried about you - constantly these past couple of weeks.” 

Before Bianca even considered the response she would like to give, she blurted out, “A text would have been nice. Anytime in the last… ooh 12 days or so.”

Janet’s response was quiet, wistful. “I didn’t hear from you either.”

Bianca was lost for words. She had assumed she was being thoughtful and considerate in allowing Janet space to pick up the pieces and spend time with her kids. She was, wasn’t she?

“I… ah… I… ummm… I thought you’d want – need – the…” Her voice trailed off.

“Bianca, what I wanted was you. And I had hoped you might want me too.”

Bianca’s head and heart almost cracked apart as she berated herself for being so stupid, while simultaneously feeling overcome with joy that Janet needed her, wanted her. 

“But you never said… I didn’t realise…”

Janet looked at her tenderly, “I thought we had an understanding.”

“An understanding?” Bianca was confused.

“How we feel. About each other.”

Bianca wasn’t one to be candid and open about her feelings, until she was sure things were ‘safe’, she’d been burnt more than once before. But there was something completely undeniable when Janet looked at her like that, something that stirred so deep inside that it was all she could do not to declare her undying and everlasting love for this woman right then and there. 

“I know how I feel,” she responded simply. “But I wasn’t sure about you. You know, the pressure, the stress of the RC. Was it real or just something contained, you know? Like, a moment in time?”

Nodding her head gently Janet replied, “I get that, but I’m pretty sure what I feel is real. And that’s why I’m here.”

Bianca raised a questioning eyebrow, inviting Janet to explain herself further. “You know me B, I’m not one to hang around waiting for things to happen. If I want something, I ask for it.”

“And no doubt you get it.”

Janet’s little smirk told Bianca what she expected to hear even before Janet replied. “Most of the time.”

Bianca moved off the arm of the couch and sat next to Janet, pulling the sleeping Moggs onto her lap as she did. The cat yawned and stretched, before curling up contentedly and beginning to purr again. Janet, smiling, looked down at Moggs, and joined Bianca in patting the purring animal, before looking back up at Bianca again.

“It’s been a long 12 days B, and I’ve spent half of that checking my phone for a message from you, but when there have been none forthcoming, I thought the only thing to do was come here and see for myself. Find out if you and me – if it’s something you want to pursue, see if we shouldn’t give it a go. And to check that you’re not just a sexual opportunist,” Janet’s eyes were twinkling as she teased Bianca yet again.

“Me the sexual opportunist?” Bianca spluttered. “I seem to remember… Hey, why so smug?”

“You’re cute when you’re all indignant.”

“Do you know how infuriating you are?” she demanded with a smile in her own eyes. “I’m supposed to be the one who tricks people into –“ 

Bianca stopped at Janet’s raised eyebrow. “What now?” she demanded, sounding defeated.

“Have you forgotten what I do for a living?” 

Bianca laughed. “A cop and a lawyer! Always trying to outdo each other in who’s the best at capturing our prey in the tangled webs we weave. We’re going to make a right pair, aren’t we?”

“So that’s a yes?” Janet’s voice sounded hopeful. 

“To what?”

“That you want to give it a go, give us a go, see if we can’t make something of this ‘thing’ we had during the RC?” Blue eyes looked deeply into blue eyes.

“Yes, of course it’s a yes.” Bianca’s soft reply belied the loud joy that was written all over her beaming face. 

“Good, I’m glad that’s settled,” Janet murmured. Her eyes flickered down to Bianca’s lips and back up to her eyes as she smiled a tiny smile and leaned in to kiss the waiting Bianca, softly, slowly, gently. 

Lips parted, the two women savoured the moment, as the kiss began to deepen and the desire in both began to ignite. Janet pulled Bianca in closer, tighter.

Suddenly Bianca jumped back, “Owww!”

“Shit, Bianca, what’s wrong?” 

“Bloody cat just stuck his claws into me! We must have squashed him between us.”

Moggs had jumped off Bianca’s lap, looking far from impressed at the turn of events. 

Janet giggled in a most un-Janet-like fashion, “Oh B, you poor thing! But check out the look on his face!”

Moggs must have sensed they were talking about him, turned on his feline feet and marched out of the room, as Janet’s giggles turned into guffaws. “Oh, of the hundred scenarios I imagined of how this would turn out tonight, that was not one of them!”

“It bloody hurt! Stop laughing, it’s not funny!” But soon Bianca joined in the laughter, unable to stay annoyed as the enormity of having Janet back in her life overwhelmed her.

Their laughter finally waned, and as they caught their breath, Janet turned to Bianca, “Thank you. Just what I needed. I don’t remember the last time I laughed like that. See, already I think we’re going to be good together.”

“Oh sure anytime. I just love getting clawed by a cat,” she replied, voice heavy with sarcasm but a smile on her face, “but if it entertains you…”

Janet’s lips were on hers again, but more telling this time, more forcefully. She broke the kiss briefly to whisper heavily and urgently against Bianca’s mouth, “B, take me to your bed.”

Bianca felt her whole body come alive with desire, turned on by the obvious lust consuming Janet. Lust she was feeling for her. She took Janet’s hand and just as she rose to her feet to follow Bianca to the bedroom, the doorbell rang.

“Aarrgh,” Janet threw her head back, her strong jaw clenching, not even trying to hide her frustration. 

Bianca let out a long, loud sigh, and shook her head. “Crap. I forgot. You ordered Japanese.”


End file.
